egg laying ?

[ali]

when do you leave eggs for mom to sit on? someone said when momma starts to molt and become barebellied. i guess my question is when do hens molt, when do i eat the eggs and when do i let momma hatch the eggs?

 

[speckledhen]

Molting has nothing to do with broodiness. When a hen goes broody, and many will not, she will sometimes pluck her breast feathers for better skin contact with the eggs. Maybe that's what they are talking about. All chickens molt and they usually go through their first real molt at around 18 months old. I have only had one hen go broody ever and she's done it twice. She has never molted, at least not yet, but should soon since she's about 20 months old.

 

[ali]

ok, well my hen is laying now so if i wanted her to sit and hatch the eggs should i just leave them in there?